Students discuss various issues of international relations, from diplomacy to civil society, from war and peace to climate change and to sustainable development.
This seminar focuses on global governance, in which not only state actors but also non-state actors such as international organizations, NGOs, business actors, and citizens are critical. Students present their research, exchange their views, and facilitate discussions based on the literature in class. They conduct literature reviews based on their research interest in the first semester. Then, they collect and analyze data (numbers, interviews, archival documents, and so on) in the second semester. With the training, they start writing their bachelor’s theses in the fourth year smoothly. This seminar holds in-class negotiation simulation sessions to improve students’ planning, organizing, and communication skills.
Questions we have in everyday life are a good starting point for our research in international relations. We can buy tasty coffee imported from Latin America and Africa at a reasonable price, but are there any challenges in the production process? Many people move from one place to another for different reasons. Who needs to travel and why? What political, economic, social, or cultural factors have an impact on people’s migration? What is critical for politicians to make decisions-public opinion, advice from colleagues, or the leader’s belief? Let’s look around and take notes of your wonders.
These are good introductory books to study international relations and sustainability.
1. Christian Reus-Smit, International Relations: A Very Short Introduction, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020).
2. Paul B. Thompson and Particia Norris, Sustainability: What Everyone Needs to Know, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021).
